Chapter 2

Karis looked at her saviour from atop the large tree root she was using as a seat. The woman stood a few feet from her, allowing Karis a proper look. She was a tall, thin Night Elf woman, as they usually were. Her hair was green in colour that seemed to be swaying gently in the breeze. At that moment she seemed to be adorned in only a loose fitting piece of cloth that covered her chest, and another that was wrapped around her waist, reaching just above her knees. Her feet were bare, and seemed to be covered in mud from the Crater.

"You arent wearing much" Karis said quietly, looking at the woman. Her eyes were still read from the tears she had cried. Her raven had tried to cheer her up but bouncing on her knee and nipping playfully at her hand. "Do you live here or something?"

The woman looked at Karis and smiled that soft smile of her, letting out a faint chuckle. She shook her head slightly as she closed her eyes before opening them again.

"No, child" she said, her voice just as soft and calming as before. "I am wearing little, because of what I am. If I am not wearing the right clothes, they get in the way, and end up getting destroyed."

Karis looked at her with a confused expression, tilting her head to the side. She wasn't sure what the woman was on about. What did she mean about wearing "the right clothes"? How could there be wrong clothes? Before she could ask, the woman spoke again.

"Tell me, young one" she said, moving towards Karis slowly, her movement flowing and graceful, like a cat. "What is your name?" Karis remained quiet for a moment as the woman folded her arms across her chest, leaning more on one leg slightly.

"I'm Karis…" she said quietly, looking down at the raven in her lap. The woman smiled gently and gave a small nod.

"Nice to meet you, Karis" the woman said, moving over and sitting down gently beside Karis. "My name is Tylira." Karis looked at Tylira for a moment, studying her face, her gentle features. "You don't often see Night Elves around Un'goro Crater" she said, looking down at Karis, reaching out and gently petting the raven who gave a quiet squawk.

"Well…your out here, arent you?" Karis responded, looking up at Tylira. The taller Night Elf gave a quiet laugh and nodded slightly, placing her hands on her lap.

"Yes, I suppose I am" she said, still smiling gently. "That doesn't explain why you are here, however. Why is one as young as yourself in such a dangerous place?" Karis looked away for a moment as she was asked what she was doing. She pondered if she should tell the truth or not. I could say I am with some travellers…or I have lived here all my life…or…

Karis turned and looked to Tylira, opening her mouth to offer any kind of explanation. She looked into her eyes for a moment, the feeling of wanting to belong swelling up inside her again as tears formed in her own eyes. Unable to hold in her emotions, Karis started crying again. Tylira gently reached out and placed an arm around the young girl, gently pulling her to her to comfort her.

Between her sobs, Karis retold her tale to Tylira, telling her of her parents that ignored her, of how they sent her away. She then told her about her uncle, and how she was treated in Silithus. She eventually managed to get through it all, her tears starting to slow.

"Im sorry…" she said with a slight sniffle, looking up at Tylira as she wiped her nose. "I don't mean to cry all over you… I just miss how things were…when I was really young…mum and dad would always be holding me and caring for me….then, once I was old enough, they just went to work…"

"It is ok, Karis" Tylira said softly, her arm still wrapped gently around the young girl. "We all need to have a good cry sometimes." Tylira reached up with her other hand and lightly brushed some of the tears from Karis' face, smiling gently as she did so. "How about I take you with me for the time being, hmm? At the very least I can take you somewhere safer and cleaner than here."

Karis nodded slightly as she stifled a yawn, the emotional rollercoaster she was on starting to take its toll. She liked the idea of being somewhere where she wouldn't get attacked by giant Devilsaurs.

"Before we go anywhere though, I need you to keep a secret for me, ok?" Karis looked to Tylira, raising her eyebrows slightly. Secret? What secret? What was Tylira going to tell her? Karis simply nodded in agreement, still wondering what it was that she was going to be told.

"Well, as you know" Tylira said, slowly standing up and taking a few steps away before turning and looking at Karis. "A lot of Night Elf males go on to become druids. Female druids in our society are often frowned upon." Karis nodded again. She knew what she meant. Her own mother had wanted to become a druid, but was told that it "was not really allowed." It's why she became a guard.

"Well…" Tylira gave a mischievous smile before she took a step back. In front of Karis, Tylira started to change shape, her body starting to become coated in fur as she dropped down onto all fours, her bones seeming to grow and shrink and realign themselves. Karis could only watch as the transformation finished, leaving Tylira in the shape of a cat in front of her. The two pieces of cloth that Tylira had been wearing were now in tatters on the floor, unable to handle the change in shape of Tylira. Guess that's what she meant about the right clothes… Karis thought to herself as she cautiously jumped down from the tree root.

Tylira slowly walked towards Karis, her tail swishing from side to side. The raven let out a squawk as the large cat came forwards, flying up onto Karis' shoulder, gripping tightly onto its perch. Karis winced slightly as she watched Tylira. Once she was close enough, Karis reached out with her hand, gently placing it on Tylira's head, smiling at how soft her coat was.

"You're a druid" Karis finally said, to which Tylira responded by nodding slightly. Karis walked all around Tylira, studying her as she did so. Tylira remained still, allowing the young girl to look at her.

"But that's not allowed!" she said once she had completed a full circle of Tylira. "Did you get in trouble for it?" Once again, Tylira nodded slightly. Karis wanted to ask more questions about it all, like why did she do it if she knew she would get in trouble, but couldn't work out how to ask her when all Tylira could do was nod or shake her head.

"So…I guess you know where we are going next?" Karis asked Tylira. Karis certainly didn't know where they would be going. Tylira was the one who had said about taking her somewhere. She hadn't said where though.

Tylira gave a slight nod before moving behind Karis. The next thing Karis knew, Tylira had crouched down and put her head between Karis' legs, launching her up onto Tylira's back. Karis let out a slight yelp as she gripped onto Tylira. Once the druid was happy that Karis was secure, she started sprinting through the Crater.

Karis held on tightly as Tylira easily sprinted through the trees to where ever they were going. Occasionally, she would leap up in the air onto a rock before leaping back down to the ground again. The first few times it happened, Karis let out startled cries of fear, but soon she was letting out cries of excitement as they sped along.

Eventually, Tylira started to slow down before coming to a stop at the base of a large tree. She looked up, and Karis followed her gaze, spotting a bag hanging from a branch. Karis looked back down to Tylira who had turned her head to look at the young girl.

Getting the impression that the bag belonged to Tylira, Karis turned to the raven on her shoulder and pointed to the bag on the branch. With a squawk, the raven spread out its wings and launched upwards towards the bag. After several attempt at getting the bag moved, the raven eventually coaxed it off the branch, causing it to fall into Karis' waiting arms.

Keeping hold of the bag, Karis climbed down off of Tylira's back, landing on the muddy ground. Turning around, she held the bag out to Tylira who took hold of it in her mouth before turning and walking behind the tree.

After a few moments, Tylira came back from behind the tree, once again in her natural Night Elf form. She was also, once again, wearing some loose cloth to cover herself up. The bag was hanging from a strap around her waist.

"Now then, shall we?" Tylira said to Karis in her soft voice, holding out a hand towards the girl. With a smile on her face, Karis reached out and took hold of Tylira's hand as her raven returned to its perch on her shoulder.

"Does it hurt to change?" Karis asked Tylira as they started to walk away from the tree, eventually coming across a well trodden path. Tylira paused for a moment, letting out a faint chuckle before shaking her head slightly.

"Hurt?" she said quietly, a smile playing on the edge of her lips. "No, young one, I wouldn't say it hurts, but it is a very strange experience none the less." Karis nodded slightly, looking at Tylira for a moment. She imagined it must be weird for a normal person to find themselves in a different body all of a sudden.

As they followed the makeshift path that had been trodden into the ground by many travellers before them, Karis spotted a camp ahead of them. She looked at it with curiosity, wondering if this was the camp that Tylira was taking her to for rest. It certainly hadn't been what she expected it to be. As if reading her mind, Tylira suddenly spoke up.

"We arent staying there" she said, looking down to Karis. "We simply need to make use of a gryphon that they have there. It is faster to travel by gryphon than it is to travel on foot. At least around here it is." Karis let out a slight sigh of relief as she was told they weren't staying at the camp. Her mind then shifted to the second thing that Tylira had mentioned. Travel by gryphon.

When Karis had been in Darnassus, she had seen plenty of people flying by on gryphon's, going about their duties and tasks. She had always wanted to go on one herself, but she had never had the chance to. And now, she would get to find out.

As they entered the camp, a couple of the people present looked up from their tasks at the newcomers before returning to whatever they were doing. As they passed two people, Karis overheard their conversation.

"So, you want me to go out and kill some fire elementals and collect stuff from their ashes?"

"That's correct."

"What sort of reward are we looking at?"

Karis turned around and looked at the couple as they fell out of earshot, wondering what sort of reward could be offered to someone who was going to fight off against fire elementals. Soon, Tylira came to a stop next to a gryphon.

From beside the gryphon, a goblin came walking out, rubbing his hands with a cloth. He stopped in front of the two Night Elves and looked up at them. Karis tried not to laugh as she looked at the green man, who was smaller than she was.

"Whaddaya want?" the goblin said, running the sleeve of his jacket across his rather pointed nose, his voice filled with attitude. Tylira, seeming to be unfazed by both the comically small appearance and the attitude of the goblin, reached into her bag and took out a small collection of gold coins. At the sight of the small coins glinting in Tylira's hand, the goblin grinned, his demeanour instantly changing.

"I imagine your wanting a gryphon for you and the young lady?" he said, motioning to Karis with a polite wave of his hand. Tylira nodded politely in response, offering a small smile to Karis who was shuffling behind Tylira to avoid the goblin. The goblin looked at Karis, giving her a toothy, yet slightly creepy grin.

"Yes, although it will be a long journey. We need to make our way to Ashenvale" Tylira said, looking to the gryphon for a moment.

"Ashenvale?" the goblin said, his grin seeming to get wider. "Ohh, that's quite a journey you have planned there, miss. It ain't gonna come cheap, I hope you realise." Tylira let out a slight sigh as she rooted around in her bag, pulling out a couple more coins and depositing them in the goblins grubby hands.

"Thank you miss, have a nice journey!" The goblin grinned at his two customers before walking away, biting down slightly on the coins in his hand. Tylira shook her head slightly before walking over to the gryphon, reaching out and running her hand along its feathers. The gryphon stood up and stretched its wings before turning to Tylira.

"I hope you're not scared of flying" Tylira said, looking down to Karis. Karis shook her head and smiled. She was really looking forward to the flight ahead of them. With a smile of her own, Tylira carefully picked up Karis and placed her on the gryphon before climbing on herself, just behind Karis.

"Hold on tight" Tylira said to Karis, who took hold of part of the saddle she was sitting on. Tylira took hold of the reigns with one hand, wrapping her free arm around Karis to hold her steady. With a shake of the reigns, the gryphon let out a squawk before rocketing skywards. The raven on Karis' shoulder let out a squawk of its own as it struggled to retain its grip, eventually finding its way into Tylira's bag where it remained safe.

Karis, on the other hand, was crying out in joyful glee. Flying was just as fun as she had imagined it to be. The cool wind whipped around her body as the gryphon flew high above Un'goro, starting to leave it behind them as it rocketed through the air. Even though the wind stung her eyes a little, causing them to water, she kept them open the entire time.

"Tylira! Have you done this before?" she called out over the wind, turning her head slightly to look down at the edge of the crater as it passed underneath them. Tylira smiled and nodded her head slightly.

"A few times, yes" she responded, her hair trailing behind her slightly as the wind took hold of it. "I prefer to use my own bird form though." Karis blinked slightly as she looked up at Tylira.

"Bird form?" she called out, her little voice nearly getting carried away on the wind. "Why didn't you use that now then? Not big enough?" Karis hadn't known that Tylira could turn into a bird, although she supposed it made sense. She had occasionally seen other druids do it.

"Like I said" Tylira said back, leaning in closer so she didn't have to shout as much. "Female druids are frowned upon, and where we are landing, they are quite against it, so me turning up there in bird form and then changing would not go down well." Karis nodded slightly, making an "ahh" noise to show she understood what Tylira meant. She would have to have Tylira show her her bird form at some point.

Below them, Karis recognised the canyon of Thousand Needles from books she had read in school. The gryphon was easily speeding them through the air. If they had travelled on foot, the journey would have certainly taken them an age.

"It would be worth you resting for a little while" Tylira suddenly said, leaning in close again to Karis. "This journey will take us quite a while to do. It would a good idea to be fully rested when we arrive." Karis opened her mouth to complain, as she wanted to watch the world below them rush by, but instead let out a yawn in surprise. Tylira gave her a soft smile that said "I told you so" but in a rather gentle way. Karis let out a slight sigh and nodded, closing her eyes and leaning back against Tylira.

The sound of the rushing wind kept Karis awake for what seemed like an eternity, the occasional whistling noise and cold air trying its best to stop her from sleeping. Eventually, though, they let up in the battle they were destined to lose and Karis fell into a deep sleep.